11/04/2022
The collection of mountains, the billet of the rare, the source of rivers and streams, the summit of Ethiopia Semen Mountains. It’s one of the oldest national parks in our country. The semen mountain park is a UNESCO world heritage sites.The simien mountain massif is one of the major highlands of Africa, rising to the highest point in Ethiopia, Ras Dejen (4543m), which is the third highest peak in the continent. Ethiopia’s premier trekking and walking destination, the 412 km2 Simien Mountains National Park was inscribed as the only Natural World Heritage in Ethiopia in 1979, whereupon UNESCO lauded it as “one of the world’s most spectacular landscapes, with jagged mountain peaks deep valleys and sharp precipices dropping some 1,500m”. In addition to the splendid scenery and hiking opportunities, populated by an alluring wealth of endemic plants and animals including Walia ibex, a very large mountain goat , gelada baboon and Ethiopian wolf.The semen mountains National Park is home to more than 80 species of birds, of which only 16 are found in Ethiopia. The park is especially rich in raptors and vultures. The most interesting of these include Pallid Harrier, Lammergeier Augur Buzzard, Wahlberg’s, Verreaux, and Martial Eagle, African Hawk Eagle, Rufous-Breasted Sparrow-hawk, Fox Kestrel, Cape Eagle Owl, Abyssinian Owl and Black stork.A wide variety of plants are found in SMNP, many of them endemic due to the isolation of the habitat. There are over 1,200 plant species, of which three are found only in the Simien Mountains.Gelada baboons, also known as bleeding-heart baboons, are highly social primates who live in herds and have been found to smack their lips and vocalize in a way that is similar to human speech. They are endemic to Ethiopia and are a big tourist attraction for the national park.
